Does eating a lot of tomatoes make you smarter?
We finally have proof that pasta and pizza make you smarter. But to avoid overdoing it, we need to proceed in order.
In May 2026, a study titled "Tomato Intake Improves Cognitive Performance and Modulates Functional Brain Networks in Healthy Adults: A Randomized Crossover Clinical Trial" was published in the journal Antioxidants. This scientific study, conducted by 17 research authors, analyzed the effect of tomato paste on brain function in a field setting.
The study involved 47 healthy adults between the ages of 40 and 55 (only 42 completed the study). The volunteers were given two diets to follow, each for three months. One diet required approximately two tablespoons of tomato paste per day (the amount was actually adjusted for the volunteer's body weight, but on average, it was two tablespoons). During the paste-based diet, the volunteers were allowed to continue with their normal eating habits. At the end of the three months, they took a month off and then followed another diet for three months, which was also low in red foods: aside from tomatoes, they were not allowed watermelon, papaya, grapefruit, or guava (a red fruit of Mexican origin).
Before and after each phase, the researchers collected blood samples from all participants, subjected some of them to brain scans, and measured their attention using a paper-and-pencil test. To assess the volunteers' concentration, the researchers used a test called d2-R, which requires participants to quickly identify certain letters among many others, paying attention to the small markings accompanying them. Specifically, participants had to observe rows of the letters "d" and "p," each marked with small dashes, and mark only the "d"s accompanied by exactly two dashes, spending 20 seconds on each row. On average, those who ate a diet rich in tomato paste and red foods scored higher in concentration.
The reason they used tomato paste is because, of all the red products, it contains the highest amount of lycopene, which was precisely the compound the researchers wanted to study. The paste used in the study contained approximately 111 mg of lycopene per 100 grams, and the daily dose of approximately 35 grams provided participants with just over 38 mg of lycopene. To achieve the same result with fresh tomatoes, they would have had to eat much more. The authors, however, don't necessarily attribute the effect to lycopene alone: the paste also contains other carotenoids and other tomato compounds.
What happens to people who eat a lot of tomato paste?
Blood tests revealed that those who followed the tomato diet had higher levels of lycopene in their blood. Lycopene is a carotenoid and, the authors explain, can cross the blood-brain barrier. It's therefore plausible that the compound isn't just circulating in the blood, but can also reach the brain.
In fact, lycopene is also linked to a protein called BDNF, which improves the ability of brain cells to adapt. In practice, it seems that consuming tomatoes helps the brain, when relaxed, erase redundant neuronal connections and therefore organize nervous responses more efficiently.
Although this is a preliminary study, conducted on a limited and highly homogeneous sample of people, and therefore a definitive causal correlation between tomatoes and concentration cannot be established, there is a good chance this is the case. Especially since ScienceAlert, a popular science publication, noted that a previous pilot study conducted on elderly people had found that eight weeks of consumption of congee, a Chinese rice soup, prepared with tomato powder improved cognitive function.
